Raimo Ilmari Helminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey player, as well as for tied for being the hockey player in the most Olympic Games, and his 26 seasons as a professional is one of the longest careers in professional hockey history. In the 2022-2023 season he is serving as the assistant coach of Ilves.
The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
Helsingin Jokerit are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga. Jokerit plays its home games at Helsinki Halli. The team was a part of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Western Conference starting in the 2014–15 season, making Finland the first Nordic country to have a team in the league.
Shawn William Bates is an American former professional ice hockey center. He played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders.
Rauman Lukko is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men’s professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Finnish Liiga, the premier men’s professional ice hockey league in Finland. They play their home games in the Äijänsuo Arena, which has a capacity of 5,400 spectators. Lukko won the SM-sarja in 1963 and won the Liiga championship in 2021. The club also has a top-tier women’s representative ice hockey team, which plays in the Naisten Liiga, and a top-tier women’s representative pesäpallo team, which plays in the Superpesis.
The Urpo Ylönen trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish Liiga to the best goalie of the season. It is named for Urpo Ylönen, former goaltender and later goaltender coach. In 2019 it was awarded to Veini Vehviläinen of Kärpät.
Antero Pertti Elias Niittymäki is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for TPS of the SM-liiga. He additionally played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, while playing for Team Finland, he was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the entire ice hockey tournament.
Kari Jalonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. Currently he is the head coach of Czech national team. He is not related to Finnish ice hockey coach Jukka Jalonen.
Juuso Riksman is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender.
Jason Mark Muzzatti is a Canadian-Italian former professional ice hockey goaltender, and the current goaltending coach for the Carolina Hurricanes. He played 62 games in the National Hockey League between 1993 and 1998 for four teams. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1991 to 2007, was spent in various minor leagues and in Europe. Internationally Muzzatti played briefly for the Canadian national team in the early 1990s, and later in his career played for the Italian national team at several World Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Northern Michigan University (NMU). The Wildcats are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). NMU has won one national title and has made three Frozen Four appearances. They play at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Michigan.
Noora Helena Räty is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) with HPK Kiekkonaiset. She is affiliated with the Minnesota chapter of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and is a founding member of the organization's board.
Sami Aittokallio is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for Bietigheim Steelers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has formerly played with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL)
Iiro Tarkki is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played with Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. He played a solitary game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Anaheim Ducks. He is the younger brother of goaltender Tuomas Tarkki.
Tarkki is a Finnish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Mira Jalosuo is a Finnish ice hockey player, currently serving as an assistant coach for the Minnesota section of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and as head coach of the girls' ice hockey team at Stillwater Area High School in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota. As a member of the Finnish national team, she won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and bronze medals at the IIHF World Women's Championships in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017.
Vilma Vaattovaara is a Finnish retired ice hockey goaltender and former member of the Finnish national team, currently serving as goaltending coach with the Streatham Youth Ice Hockey Club, the youth affiliate of Streatham IHC. Her coaching oversight includes the Streatham Black Hawks in the Division II of the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) in addition to the club's minor and junior teams. Representing Finland, she won a bronze medal at the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship.
The U20 SM-sarja is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten SM-liiga during 1991 to 2020. The league was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 1945 and a Finnish Champion in men’s under-20 ice hockey has been named annually since the league’s inaugural season – with the exception of the 2019–20 season, in which the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen to twenty teams compete in the U20 SM-sarja regular season, which is played in a preliminary ranking stage followed by a divisional or group stage.
Oulun Kärpät Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in Oulu, a city on the northeastern coast of the Bothnian Bay in the Finnish north-central region of North Ostrobothnia, at the Raksilan harjoitusjäähalli, also called Raksila 2, of the Oulun Energia Areena. Ilves have won the Aurora Borealis Cup three times, in 2012, 2017, and 2018.
The 2021–22 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-ninth season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The season began on 11 September 2021 and concluded on 20 March 2022.
Finland